Cornell Promotes DeLuca to Head Coach

A day after Jeff Tambroni was named the head men's lacrosse
coach at Penn State, Cornell announced his successor: associate
head coach Ben DeLuca.

DeLuca becomes the 10th head coach in men's lacrosse, replacing
Tambroni, who has spent a decade directing the Cornell program.

"I couldn't be more thrilled than to name Ben DeLuca as our new
Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Men's Lacrosse," said Andy Noel, the
Meakem*Smith Director of Athletics and Physical Education. "Ben is
a terrific coach and leader of young men, but most importantly he
is the person that we as a university and lacrosse community most
want to represent our program. This is a happy day for Cornell
lacrosse, and I know Ben will pour his heart and soul into this
terrific opportunity."

During DeLuca's time as both an assistant and associate head
coach at Cornell, the Big Red has advanced to three final fours in
the past four seasons, including a spot in the national
championship game in 2009.

In total, DeLuca has spent 16 years at Cornell, including four
years as a player for the Big Red before serving as an assistant
coach for two seasons. After being away from Ithaca for two years,
DeLuca returned prior to the 2002 season and was promoted to the
top assistant position under Tambroni in summer 2003. He became the
first Mario St. George Boiardi Assistant Coach of Men's Lacrosse
the following year and was promoted to associate head coach
following the 2007 season.

Since rejoining the coaching staff in 2002, DeLuca has helped
the Big Red to an undefeated regular season (13-0), six 11-win
seasons, a pair of nine-win seasons and eight Ivy League
titles.

Tambroni leaves Cornell with a record of 109-40 -- the
second-most wins in program history. He led the Big Red to eight
Ivy League titles, and the 2010 campaign marked the eighth time
that Cornell advanced to the NCAA tournament during his tenure,
making it to the quarterfinal round six times, the semifinals three
times and the national championship game once.

Over the last six seasons, Tambroni has led Cornell to the
heights of Division I lacrosse, boasting the third-highest winning
percentage of all Division I teams during that span (.777) and
ranking third in number of victories (73).

The Big Red concluded the 2010 season with a 12-6 record after
seeing its improbable run to the national semifinal ended by Notre
Dame.